Pages

Wednesday, February 15

Why the Red Wings' streak is actually impressive

Joey Mac

So the Detroit Red Wings have the longest home win streak in NHL history, but some people are quick to rain on the parade. They cite the fact that the 1929-30 Bruins and the 75-76 Flyers had their streaks without shoot-out wins. Had the Red Wings been playing those eras, the shootouts would have been ties.

Boo hoo. Let's see the Flyers or Bruins endure the brutal schedule the Wings are subject to as members of the Western Conference. The Wings have to go on road trips just to play teams in their own conference. How could this not take a toll on the team once they return home from the tundras of Canada, or the deserts of Arizona?

And the Flyers and Bruins teams wouldn't have even existed in today's post-lockout salary cap era. The salary cap has created incredible parody within the league, which is something that was non-existent back before the lockout. The Wings have managed to put together a deadly team, all the while paying about the same amount of money to its players as the rest of the league. This is something that the Bruins and Flyers did not do in the years of their own streaks.

And let's not forget that the Bruins only played five other teams in 1929-30. Seriously? Five teams? Who needs to watch film on anyone, when you see the same teams once a week? The current Red Wings have to deal with a full league of teams and players, all with different styles. And the players themselves are way better too, as each team has more depth than ever.

Of course this doesn't mean much in the long run. The Wings will make the playoffs, which is where the real work begins. But it is nice to be a part of something historic ever once in a while. Welcome to the bandwagon. #LGRW